TGISS

THANK GOODNESS IT STOPPED SNOWING!!

Today, the sun is out and shining bright. The snow is melting. It isn't as cold as it's been. And, it isn't windy or SNOWING! I am happy again now that there is no more darkness and Blizzard-ing.

Just thought I'd share. :-)

Mmmm....Blizzard!

I love Blizzards. The ice cream treat, not the snow storm. Unfortunately, it is way too cold outside to justify purchasing a Blizzard treat. That is why today I didn't get the ice cream treat. That and the fact that I got the real thing. {brrr}

Last night the wind blew and blew and blew. It blew so hard that I thought our roof was going to come flying off! It continued to blow well into the morning. Then it started to BLIZZARD! I of course was driving on the freeway...not a good idea. I was going maybe 35 MPH. This made a lot of people behind me angry, but when you can't see anything in front of you, why go fast??

My husband said that a guy called in to the radio station that he was listening to, and was stuck just past the last Payson exit going NB on I-15, and that he had been there since 11 AM (at this point it was around 2:30 PM). Poor guy! He was stuck in between two semi trucks that were stuck. He wasn't stuck in the snow, but he couldn't go anywhere because the semis were.

This is the snow perma-stuck to my back door windows. My back door opens out onto a covered porch. Just shows you how bad it had to have been snowing to get my windows all covered!

Now, you can't probably tell, but it really is snowing really bad in this picture! This is the view out the dining room window. It was the best shot I could get of how bad it was snowing, and you can't even hardly tell. Just take my word for it.

Mommy's Little Helper

While I was working on my quilting project this afternoon, Marshy decided to be my little helper and unload an entire cupboard of its cans and cookie cutters.

He likes to line everything up and group them together.

He is also very helpful when it comes to putting things back into the cupboard, even though he doesn't put everything away!

Midway through his unloading of the cupboard, he got distracted by Sparky playing with his sister, Fiona, outside on the back porch. He ran up to the door and started hitting it saying "Doggies, doggies!" Well, that's what the words sounded like, at least.

This picture is from yesterday, but he does the same thing everytime he sees something on the porch or in the back yard. So cute!

He loves his little Sparky-dog, but Sparky is a little afraid of him. He runs away, probably because he doesn't want to be man-handled!

Marshy of course usually gives chase, and then Sparky ends up hiding under the couch, or jumps up on Daddy's lap!

Newest Quilt Project

So, I have until March to finish this adorable quilt for my friend. I have been going really slowly on this project, because it is a lot of strip sewing and then cutting, and then sewing and cutting, and more sewing.

These are all of the strips that have to be cut and then pieced together into nine-patch blocks, modified nine-patch blocks, and other blocks.

I've made a little more progress this evening, as half of the pieces are pieced together. Once I finish piecing them, I can sew them into blocks and rows, and finally complete my quilt top. I can't wait to show you the finished project!

Finally Finished!

This weekend I spent a lot of time in front of the TV. Don't worry, I was working on other projects too! In fact, I finally finished my Quiet Book project. And just in time too! It was such a lifesaver today at church! Marshall was totally enthralled by it....for about 10 minutes, which is about how long his attention span lasts during church! Here are some pics of the finished project:

This is the book when it's closed. In order to hide the stitching, I needed to slip-stitch the spine to the cover.

I know there are already pictures of each of the pages, but it was really hard work getting them finished and into the book itself, so I decided to show ya'all how they look!

My husband made fun of this page today at church. It's supposed to have the crinkly-paper inside the wings, and I tried using celophane which in turn ruined my sewing machine's tension for a while.

This is my favorite page. Partly because it was the "easiest" and partly because I loved putting the eyelets in.

Thanks to the Simplicity pattern 3709 for making this project possible! I would never have been able to make a book like this on my own.

Laundry, and more laundry, and even more laundry. Will it ever end?!

At my house, I feel like I never can get caught up with the laundry. You know the feeling? Like no matter what you do or how many loads you get washed, it never ends and there seems to constantly be laundry? And there are only three of us! Granted, most of the laundry belongs to Marshy. I mean, he really does go through a lot of clothes! Today, for example, he woke up soaking wet from a leaky diaper (outfit number 1). We got him cleaned up and dressed (0utfit number 2) and went to work. At about noon, I discovered that he had peed out of his outfit! I had to run home and get another outfit (outfit number 3). After work we came home, ate dinner, took a bath and got in our jammies (outfit number 4). Now, if he doesn't fall asleep on his bottle, or pee out again, we'll end the day with four outfits! It's ridiculous, I know, but I can't make him spend the whole day in wet clothes, can I? NO!

Well, my goal this week has been to do 1 load of laundry a day. Yeah, right! I plan ahead, and make sure that everyone has enough clothes...but then I miscalculate and have to hurry and get clothes in the wash so that there are plenty of socks and underwear for everyone!

Today I ended up doing 2 loads of wash: the whites, and Marshy's clothes. My husband is so picky about how laundry is done. The whites have to be just that: whites. They also need to be washed with bleach (granted, how else am I going to keep my whites white?) Then, there are the colors. Now, growing up, my mom had 3 loads: whites, lights, and darks. When I went to college, there were 2 loads: whites and everything else. Now that I'm married, I have been schooled in the art of laundry. There are many loads: towels, whites, rugs, reds/yellows/oranges, blues/greens/blacks (this is the load I throw my purples into), and the tans/browns. That is 5 loads!! AAHH!! Now you know why I feel like I can never keep up! I get one load of reds done, and by the time I get the rest of the laundry done, it's time to do the reds again. Plus, throw in Marshy's laundry every other day and you can see how easily it piles up.

Honestly, I don't know how people with more kids do it! My hat is off to you Lola! I have no idea how you keep up with all those kids and all that laundry, especially with all those boys! You are my Laundry Idol. :)

From the Cutting Board

I know that I haven't finished my Quiet Book yet, but I am really frustrated with it now and am taking a break. Not from sewing, but from that particular project. I have a friend who is having a baby in March, and I need to get started on her baby quilt. See, that is my thing. When one of my friends or family members has a baby, I make them a quilt.

These are the fabrics that I'm using for the quilt pieces:

These are the fabrics for the larger pieces and binding, and the quilt back.

This is a close-up of the detail on the backing fabric.

So far I have everything cut, laid out on the cutting board, and am working on piecing it all together. Hopefully I can hurry and get it pieced so that I can throw it on the quilt machine and get this baby quilt finished!

Speaking of cutting boards. . . I got a new one the other day! I am so excited. We went to Ikea, and my husband convinced me to buy this beautiful wood butcher's block. I'm going to make a cover for it, so I can use it as a bread board as well as a cutting board. Here is a picture of it. We started the oil treatment last night, so the color of the wood will get deeper as the treatment progresses.

Our trip to Africa

We went for a little jaunt up to Salt Lake today. We were driving down Redwood, because Mike saw some stores he wanted to show me. He always finds the most interesting things while he drives around for work. There are a couple of Polynesian stores that looked interesting, but were closed. Then, we found the store Mike was really looking for: African Restaurant and Mini-Mart!!

It looked like it was pretty run-down, but we stopped because it was open. We went in, and the few men in the store were very nice and friendly. They were redoing the mini-mart section, but invited us to go up to the restaurant. We declined, as we were just looking around. It was really interesting to see some of the food they carried. It is not at all what I would have expected in a mini-mart!

At least now we can say we have been to Africa!

Books, Books, Books!

Have you ever tried reading more than one book at a time? Recently I have been reading 10. I thought it wouldn't be too hard but: Ugh! It is a lot harder than I thought.

Back in August I started reading Stardust, by Neil Gaiman, because I wanted to see the movie. I didn't get very far. I wasn't entirely sure if I liked the book. Why should I waste my time if I didn't like it? Well, needless to say, I have purchased the book so I figure that I at least ought to finish it and give it a chance!

Then there are two books that I read off and on as parenting finds itself in need of assistance late at night. What to Expect: the Toddler Years, and Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five both give excellent advice on situations that I may possibly find myself in. Example: having a dog. My mom thought that it was not particularly wise to have a dog and a baby at the same time. Well, these books backed up the fact that dogs are good for children (Lola: you can borrow my book anytime if you need to prove a point to huzz....BTW, Petersons still have a puppy! hint hint hahaha). These books haven't necessarily been read cover to cover, but are more of an ongoing read over the next several years.

I started to read Eight Cousins, by Louisa May Alcott, last fall/winter. I used to read nightly while I waited for Marshall to fall asleep. Sadly, I only read a few chapters, but I am determined to finish it!


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be reading the Jane Austen novels before they play out in movie form on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. Currently, I am reading two of her novels: Northanger Abby, and Persuasion. I love her work, but I can't wrap my head around her page long sentences sometimes! People just don't talk like that anymore, and it really confuses me sometimes - so much so that I have to read one sentence several times to make sense of what is going on. PLUS I have this problem where I really only want to read the dialogue, so I skip to the quotation marks, and then realize that I have NO CLUE of what is going on! Anyone else with that problem? I know you're out there, so go ahead and 'fess up! haha

Finally we come to the last 4 books I am reading (3 of which are on order, and shipped recently). My dad is a former Financial Planner, and insisted that Mike and I read this book called the Automatic Millionaire. Well, I started it about 4 years ago, and still haven't finished. I figured I ought to read it and see what all it had to teach me. That's where my books on order come in. I will, as soon as they arrive, be reading the workbook that accompanies Automatic Millionaire, as well as Smart Women Finish Rich and Smart Couples Finish Rich. I figured that he, David Bach, might have some good advice, so why not find out?

So, never let it be said that I haven't done my share of reading. 10 at once?! I know, I'm crazy. At least maybe one of these days I'll keep all of the plots straight!! haha

Finally!

I have finally finished the last page in my quiet book! Hooray! Now, all that needs to be done is to sew the backing on, sew the pages together, and sew them into the cover. Piece of cake, right? We'll see...

This is the completed page. The shoes lace up and you can unlace them and relace them. The pattern wanted just holes cut with a hole punch in the fabric, but I figured that there would need to be some sort of reinforcement or else the fabric would tear over time.

I went to Wal-mart and bought just their cheapest eyelets and a really nifty eyelet plier/tool. (Total cost: about $9 for both.) They were really easy to use too! Just cut a hole, insert one end, stick the other piece of the eyelet on, and clamp it down using the pliers. Simple!

This is a close-up of the laces and my lovely eyelet job. I know, I know. The eyelets aren't evenly spaced. Hey! This is my first attempt at using eyelets, so I think I deserve a break! haha At least they do their job rather well. :)


Meanwhile:

While I finished this adorable page (it was my favorite page next to the button flowers) Marshy was chilling in the living room on his new Disney Cars fold-out couch. (These are also available at Wal-mart. If you can't tell by now, I LOVE Wal-mart) He loves to sit and chill-ax on his couch, because that is what Mom and Dad do! He also loves to watch the Baby Einstein movies.

They're kind of dark because he was watching a movie with the lights off. I didn't want him to know I was taking the pictures, so I didn't flip the lights on.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. Her books have inspired incredible screen versions. Fortunately, for us Austen fans, PBS is featuring her films on Masterpiece Theater. Hooray!! Sunday's movie was Persuasion.

I've never seen previous versions of the film, nor read the book, but I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Next week is Northanger Abbey. My goal is to read the book before Sunday, so that I can watch the movie and compare how closely it follows. For those of you who want to watch, check your local listings for Masterpiece on PBS Sunday nights! More updates to come as the Complete Jane Austen on PBS continues!

Progress, at last!

So, despite my sewing machine going on strike last week, I was able to get a few more pages finished for the Quiet Book.

This is page six of the book. I wouldn't have been able to finish it, because I didn't have any lame (I guess it's pronounced la-may, although it looks a lot like lame. haha). Thanks to Lola for providing the lame for the wings! The wings aren't pinned down to the page, so Marshy can play with the cool texture and make the butterfly "fly".

This is page seven. The dog house took me FOREVER! The hardest part was using the double fold bias tape around the dog house door. I have never used bias tape before this, and it was quite the experience.

I was going to make the dog out of white felt, so that it looked like Sparky, but forgot and started to make it out of brown. I would've started over, but I ended up liking the brown puppy better anyway!

I'm almost done with page eight, and then I get to put everything together! I'll keep you posted with more updates as my work progresses.

Sew much FRUSTRATION!

I want you all to meet my sewing buddy: Janome Harmony 2049, a Sears exclusive about 3 years ago. That's when it was given to me. I told my mom I wanted to start sewing, and she got me this beautiful machine. I was "sew" excited!

We had a really great relationship for about a year and a half. Then things started to go south. Whenever I wanted to sew, it didn't. It would do whatever it could to make sure that I got frustrated and put it away. I think it was trying to get back at me for not using it for so long, but really, if you think about it, it was its own fault!

Lately, things have been really good again with my machine. I have used it to make and bind 5 quilts in the last few months, in addition to my little angel's Halloween costume, a skirt for me, and now most of my little angel's Quiet Book.

Then, today, something went wrong. I don't know why, but my machine is being difficult to work with again. None of the settings have been changed since last night. It wasn't left on by accident again. It wasn't even put away, but left out on the table where I use it practically daily.

I finally finished the fifth page in the Quiet Book (the nest is velcro-ed on, and comes off to reveal 5 baby blue eggs), and had sewn most of the elements together for page six. All I had to do was baste the batting to my page background, and then attach the elements to the page. Then I would be off to work on pages seven and eight. It was when I began to baste that all went wrong. My machine stopped working with me, and began its vicious cycle of work-frustrate-frustrate some more-work.

If only it would cooperate with me. My goal was to finish the Quiet Book by Sunday, so that maybe, just maybe, I can sit through all of church. Well, sew much for that! There's just sew much frustration. :(

Hoarding

My little angel has enterd the "hoarding" stage. That wonderful stage where he feels that everything is his. I no longer have a sewing machine cover, as it has become his "stash box". It sits in the middle of the living room, turned upside down, overflowing with items that my angel has felt needed to be "put away".

This is how full the sewing machine cover is.

It is almost to the point of overflowing, but it is definitely time to empty it!

Periodically, I'll dump out the lid and put everything away, but before I know it, it is overflowing again! Today was one of those empty and put away days. You'll never believe how much stuff he can fit in there!

He had two of Grandma's books (we are currently residing in Grandma's house while she and Grandpa are serving an LDS mission), one of Grandma's cowboy action figure toys, 9 mini tonka cars for his race track, the lid to his block shape sorter, the zebra cart for his Fisher-Price Animal Train, his baby cell phone, a rubber crab and a rubber fish that go with his baby magnet blocks, a remote control, an empty water bottle, baby powder, an American Idol Coca-Cola plastic glass, Mom's craft bells, Mom's sewing measuring tape, Dad's mini-mag flashlight, Sparky's toy hedgehog, and Sparky's toy ball. See! I told you you wouldn't believe how much stuff he could fit in there!

Precious

This is my little angel. He was so tired this afternoon while we were shopping that he actually fell asleep in the cart! I had to make my cashier wait while I snapped a quick pic with my Verizon Juke.

Snowed In

Today it has been snowing on and off all day. Since I don't have to work today and I can't really go anywhere because the roads are bad, I decided to veg out at home with Marshy and Sparky. Sparky slept on the couch most of the morning.

Marshall wanted to watch a movie, so we popped in The Jungle Book. It has been ages since I have watched this classic Disney film. Marshy was so good to sit so nicely in his chair and watch the movie.

While he was watching the movie, I took the opportunity to get some more work done on my quiet book. I got another page done! It was hard to do the zipper, but at least I got it looking somewhat decent, considering it's my first zipper EVER!

About halfway through the movie, Sparky wanted to go outside. It had stopped snowing for a few minutes, so I let him out. About 15 minutes later, this is what showed up at the back door:

He looked like he had marshmallows glued to his legs! Poor little dog was so weighted down with snow. When he came in, I had to help him pull the big chunks of snow off of his legs and belly.

I got most of the big chunks off, and what little was still stuck on, I let Sparky lick off. There was so much snow on him that it made quite a large snowball when I was done picking it all up! This experience, of course, won't deter Sparky from wanting to go play outside in the freezing cold snow for a while. At least it has started to snow again, so I won't have to let him out for a while!

Sparky and Marshy, BFF

I was watching Marshall and Sparky play last night, and I realized that the "professionals" are right! I read in one of my parenting books, What to Expect: The Toddler Years, about how pets, especially dogs, help toddlers learn responsibility and to take care of something else.

Up until now, Sparky has really not paid much attention to Marshall. But now that Marshall is walking and crawling and playing all over the house, Sparky loves to play with him! Even when Marshall pulls his hair, he's really trying to pet him, Sparky still licks his face and curls up next to him on the floor.

It amazes me that this little 9-lb dog can love my little boy so much, and they actually get along all the time! I'm so glad that my two "boys" play nice all the time!